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Digital News Report – During the boom of the mid-1990s consumer credit was healthy and growing. Today with the economic downturn, lenders are seeing a decline in consumer debt.
Consumer credit includes goods, services, credit cards, and personal and car loans. The Federal Reserve, which calculates this number, excludes mortgages from their data.
Through the mid 1990s consumer credit was expanding at around 5 percent per year. In 2008 that rate dropped to 1.5 percent and in 2009 the rate began to decline.
“In August, total consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 1-3/4 percent,” the Fed said in a statement. “Revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 7-1/4 percent, and revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 1-1/4 percent.”
By: Mark Williams